On International Steel Guitar, David Belmont returns to original World/New Age material. The album features David on dobro (on every track!) and the stellar cello playing of Brent Arnold. The material was all written or arranged in a 6-month period between mid-July, 2013 and mid-January, 2014…an experiment in compressed creativity. The centerpiece of the album is the spontaneously composed tour de force Alizadeh, a 26-minute duet in which Brent and David weave sonic tapestries based on various Persian melodies from the Iranian master musician and composer Hossein Alizadeh. The other tracks extend the musical palette from Chinese (the zheng inspried Bamboo Scaffold) to East African (the percussion-laden Guhahamuka) to Americana (Leo Kottke style) with an extended exploration of acoustified West Coast psychedelia (Dreamscape/I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind/Escape from Spiderhead). The album closes with a chamber arrangement of the Frank Zappa classic Watermelon In Easter Hay. The music is available on CD Baby.

DAVID BELMONT

David Belmont is a guitarist/composer/producer based in New York City. His work spans a broad range of genres from lush ambient soundscapes to jazz/rock-based world fusion to angular avant garde jazz. While focusing mainly on original instrumental compositions, David’s music has, at times, featured eclectic cover material; e.g., a New Age arrangement of the Rolling Stones classic Moonlight Mile (WindWater Excursions).

David has been the co-music director (with Michael Walsh) of the Castillo Theatre since 2006. During their tenure, the Belmont-Walsh team has created the sound design and backing tracks for 14 plays, including the AUDELCO Award winning musical Sally and Tom (The American Way) in 2012. David’s music is often in rotation on the syndicated radio program Echoes.